[Unicorn on the cob]

Hi,

I have the opportunity to adopt a beautiful 5 year old newfoundland. The owners say they just don't have time for her anymore. She's a "people person" dog and always wants to be near her people. She's always lived outdoors on their farm. During the day she's kept in a kennel, and when the owners get home they let her run around the farm on her own. The only time she's been indoors is a horse barn in the winter and when she was having pups. The owner says that she's always "held it" when she's in the barn with her litter. We live in a town with a privacy fenced-in backyard, but all of our dogs have always been indoor dogs. We currently have a 10 year old golden who only goes outside to potty. If we adopt her, I'm wondering how well she'll adapt to her new life indoors in our house. How easy might it be to adapt, and how difficult will it be to train her on our 'house rules'? I know there might need to be some potty training involved, since she's always been used to going whenever and wherever she wants. And I've heard of some outdoor dogs having an initial fear of being inside and using the stairs, but I'm not really sure what other difficulties to expect. We also have a lot of road noise in our backyard, which I'm sure she's not at all used to. Loud Harley's driving by predominate on the weekends. How might I soften the blow for her so she's not too overwhelmed? I thought about maybe keeping her in the backyard for a while, bringing her in to the house for short periods. She might be able to dig out of the backyard though, which she might try if she's stressed and wants to try to get back to her original owner.

 

[CptJack]

I adopted a 5 year old Boston Terrier who had spent her entire life running loose on a farm, with a bunch of boxers. It took us very, very little time for her to figure things out. Maybe, maybe, 6 weeks? Probably less than a month, though, but adjustment really wasn't an issue. We made sure she went out frequently at first or was supervised (like she was a puppy) and did the same sort of basic training but because she was older and had full bladder control, impulse control and a brain it was much easier.

She really had no issues with adapting to the change of setting at all. She just loved people.

 

[gingerwrinklepup]

Personally I'd be wary of anything the person says, have you met the dog and seen her in the circumstances etc? The story seems fishy to me, or at the very least sad since they bred her but now suddenly don't have time for her when most of her life seems to be them not having time for her anyway??

I think if she's truly a people's dog like she says (which just sounds like they're trying to make her smell of roses and is typical speak for anyone rehoming.) then she shouldn't have much difficulty imo. I would just see her reaction to the house first before judging. Maybe lead her into the back yard first of all and then walk into the house and see if she follows and is comfortable and go from there. If she's able to dig out definitely supervise or tether while in there so she can't do that.

I was going to recommend a dog flap to help with the transition but I don't think they're very common in the USA because of 'coons etc? Also a dog flap big enough for a newfy is probably big enough for people LOL.

 

[Willowy]

Big hairy dogs sometime prefer to stay outside when it's cold out. So don't fuss too much if that's what she seems to like better. Otherwise, since she's been kenneled I don't think she'll find living in town to be too much of a shock and should adjust quickly. Let her set the pace and just go with what she's comfortable with.

 

[Unicorn on the cob]

I got to meet her over the weekend and she seemed as sweet as they said. She had her big tail wagging and didn't even bark when I approached her even though I was a stranger. I would describe her personality as mellow and reserved. She's all of 120 lbs and makes our golden look like a lap dog in comparison. I believe when they said they're looking to find her a new home the exact words they used were "because we're never home". I didn't get any weird vibes when we met her or her current owners. They have kids and she seems to have been given lots of love. It's a long drive to their place so I don't think I'll have the opportunity to bring her home and see how she reacts before we make the decision whether to adopt or not.

 

[hanksimon]

If you like her, I say go with it. Most dogs very quickly learn to love the luxury of living inside. As far as house training, she may need a little guidance of where to go potty, but training inside vs. outside should be relatively quick, if even needed. Maybe adult dogs house train themselves.

You will have to train her to show her inside vs. outside rules, but if you want a large second dog, it sounds like you've got a good deal. Let us know.

 

[gingerwrinklepup]

I got to meet her over the weekend and she seemed as sweet as they said. She had her big tail wagging and didn't even bark when I approached her even though I was a stranger. I would describe her personality as mellow and reserved. She's all of 120 lbs and makes our golden look like a lap dog in comparison. I believe when they said they're looking to find her a new home the exact words they used were "because we're never home". I didn't get any weird vibes when we met her or her current owners. They have kids and she seems to have been given lots of love. It's a long drive to their place so I don't think I'll have the opportunity to bring her home and see how she reacts before we make the decision whether to adopt or not.

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That's good, my advice was just a word of warning because some stuff seemed fishy to me but if it all adds up and it's all what it seems then go for it if you're happy!

 

[ireth0]

Luna lived outside before we got her and she adjusted to living inside with no issues.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

hope it works out for you , she is a beautiful girl. Having a farm with animals and never being home is a curiosity lol.. it's just odd if you think about it. Do prepare yourself that when 120lb dog wants to do something ,, pull on the lead, get out or into something... your not going to be able to stop them using force or strength... Dogs of this size are manageable because they want to stop themselves when working with you. Things like keeping her contained if she is still in tact, and like you were thinking wanting to escape the backyard. I like the breed there was one at a pub I use to go to when stationed in Berlin. All the regulars could take him for a walk. He lived in the basement of the pub until he took out the pipes lol lol .. he was a huge drooler He loved everyone and anyone could walk him...

 

[BellaPup]

She is gorgeous!!

My grandparents farm dogs - who were very laid-back - didn't mind being inside now and then (usually during tornado warnings and blizzards etc...), but after an hour or so they'd get stir-crazy and pace and whine until they were let out.

Hopefully this girl is better about it. That's a lot of dog to try and keep calm and contained (and they drool more when they're stressed...lol) She would probably be a LOT better about it than the pretty Pyr in the pic, though. Newfies are definitely more people-loving dogs

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Amaryllis]

Kabota was a country boy before I adopted him, but he loves people and just needed some socialization. He adores the city, all the more people to love on him!

 

[MastiffGuy]

I doubt the change will be a big issue.
Her jowl don't look overly loose but by no means tight, exercising, eating, stress, drinking your going to have some pretty good water works.
Ones I know are really sweat dogs, but there some major grooming.
Also as PatriciafromCO stated there very strong dogs.

 

[Unicorn on the cob]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll try to give a follow-up report on how she's adjusting to her now home.

 

[Unicorn on the cob]

We just brought her home a few days ago. The first day she was quite shell-shocked and spent the day just pacing around the house and searching every nook and cranny. But she had no problems at all adjusting to being indoors and has had no bathrooming issues. Actually, she doesn't like being outside in our backyard, because that's not where we are. She just seems to love people, wants to be by our side at all times, and follows me around the house everywhere. I can't even go to the bathroom with the door closed without her getting upset. She's not "in your face" though, and prefers to just be in the same room as us at a distance. She's super sweet and gentle and is getting along great with our golden retriever.

We are having one problem with her, though. We have a ranch style house with stairs leading to the basement. She seems deathly-afraid of the stairs and won't go anywhere near them. She won't even look at them. Since our bedroom is in the basement, we go down for the night and then she gets left upstairs by herself and becomes upset and starts to whine and bark. I've had to sleep on the couch upstairs the last 2 nights to keep her calm. It's going to be a problem until we can get her to use the stairs. Even out in the backyard we have 3 steps leading up to our deck. She won't use them, and instead will try to leap all of the way up on the deck from the ground. A few times she's missed the jump and ended up being stuck half way-on, half-off.

Despite her sweet temperament, she's still pretty rough around the edges. She doesn't even know basic commands like 'sit' and 'lay down'. She does walk pretty well on a leash.

 

[Amaryllis]

She's probably never seen stairs and doesn't know what to make of them. It's not uncommon with dogs. I would find a treat she really goes crazy for (try little bits of cheese, chicken, hot dogs, steak) and slowly lure and reward her stair by stair. It might take once or twice or working on it every day for 2 weeks, but it will work eventually.

However, I would have her vet checked and make sure she's not hurting in her hips. Big dogs are prone to hip dysplasia and it's possible the stairs hurt her. I would also make sure that she can get grip on the stairs, so keep her nails trimmed back, etc.

 

[Effisia]

Yay Newfie!

Annabel has never really been thrilled with stairs, but she learned about them fairly early on once she got too big for my husband to carry around for potty breaks. Even having used stairs from a pretty young age, still still gets grumpy about them, and we only have eight. I definitely agree with Amaryllis's suggestion of luring her with really yummy treats AND getting her hips checked. Are your stairs carpeted or bare wood? If they're bare, make sure that you keep the underside of her paws trimmed in addition to her nails. When that hair grows out too much around the pad and between their toes, bare surfaces become practically like ice.

 

[Unicorn on the cob]

Thanks for the replies. We'll keep working on the stairs with treats. She's quite smart. They are carpeted so she shouldn't have too much trouble with traction. She's smart enough to use soft paws walking on our hardwood floors (most of the time).

Not a great pic, but this shows the size relationship of her with our 80 lb. Golden:

 

[Wirehairedvizslalove]

Aww, one of my dream dogs since a kid has been a Newfoundland! I am glad that she has a good home.

 

[PatriciafromCO]

am happy she is home and doing well... agree with everyone on the stairs take time to gain confidence to something new. You might train for spot /place inside the house... put a dog bed down and give her a direction to go and act... The one thing I noticed about kennel dogs becoming house dogs they don't know what to do and they come off pacing and nervous.. Little direction of what her place and activity in the house can help especially when you can reward them..